Fort Wayne Metals, Fort Wayne, Ind., introduces Silk Nitinol, which has an ultra-smooth surface that has been found to significantly reduce snags in braiding operations. Early results indicate that it will be possible to achieve a surface roughness of 3 µin (0.0762 µm) RMS or less. This means that using Silk Nitinol can eliminate the need for mechanical or electropolishing.
Other than its smooth surface and the absence of any visible oxide, Silk Nitinol is expected to be equivalent to Fort Wayne’s etched bright Nitinol. Therefore, it has equivalent shape memory or superelastic properties, fatigue life, and yield and tensile strength.
Silk Nitinol is available in all of its Nitinol grades. Sizes range from 0.0008 to 0.040 in. (0.020 to 1 mm).
